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E. V.B.b.1. Egypt

Bamyeh, Mohammed, The Egyptian Revolution: First Impressions from the Field, Arab Studies Institute, 2011

El-Mahdi, Rabab ; Marfleet, Philip, Egypt: The Moment of Change, London, Zed Books, 2009, pp. 186

Analysis of the Mubarak regime and its policies, the nature of political Islam, and (most relevant here) a chapter on ‘The democracy movement: Cycles of protest’, pp. 87-102, which provides background to Tahrir Square.

Ghonim, Wael, Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People is Greater than the People in Power, London, Fourth Estate, 2012, pp. 308

Memoir of activist who works for Google and focused particularly on promoting the revolution online. He anonymously ran the Facebook page demanding justice for Khaled Said, a young man beaten to death by police in Alexandria in June 2010, and promoted brief demonstrations, for example a ‘silent stand’ by people wearing black and holding hands to express their anger at the lack of justice for Khaled. The Facebook page attracted over 350,000 members.

Kandil, Hazem, Mubarak’s Overthrow, New Left Review, issue 68 (March/April), 2011, pp. 17-56

Interview in which Kandil analyses the revolt brewing under the surface and the role of six distinct groups, the nature of the Mubarak regime, the events of the first month of revolution and prospects for the future.

Kandil, Hazem, Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt’s Road to Revolt, London, Verso, 2012, pp. 256

Analysis by political sociologist depicting the revolt as a power struggle between the military, the security services and the political leadership in the context of the previous six decades. Challenges the widespread assumption that after the popular rebellion the military continued to control the political developments.

Shenker, Jack, The Egyptians: A Radical Story, London, Allen/Penguin, 2016, pp. 528

Account of the revolt against Mubarak by a Guardian journalist, based on first hand contact with activists, but also people in slums and factories and those living outside Cairo, and covering earlier development of the workers' activism and unionism and also village revolts against landowners. It includes wider-ranging historical analysis of Egypt's political and economic relations with the West.

Sowers, Jeannie ; Toensing, Chris, The Journey to Tahrir: Revolution, Protest and Social Change in Egypt, 1999-2011, London, Verso, 2012, pp. 320

Begins with the uprising centred on Tahrir Square and then examines the Mubarak regime, the economic trends, and the growing protests by workers, and by democracy, anti-war, social and environment activists.

See also:

Firoze Manji; Sokari Ekine, African Awakening: The Emerging Revolutions, (E. I.2.3. Third Wave of Protests: 2011 - 2021), two chapters by activist Hassan El Ghayesh, (pp. 80-92), Naib, Fatma , Egypt: Women of the Revolution Pambazuka News, , 2011 (pp. 100-106) and Mamdani, Mahmood , An African reflection on Tahrir Square Pambazuka News, , 2011 (pp. 198-210). These chapters are also available online from: http://www.pambazuka.org.
Rabab El-Mahdi, Orientalising the Egyptian uprising, Pambazuka News, 2011, suggesting a non-western interpretation of events.
Mahmood Mamdani, 'Walk to work' and lessons of Soweto and Tahrir Square, Pambazuka News, 2011